ALBERTON – Characterised as a gesture of principle by the leader of the opposition Cllr Fortune Mahano, the official opposition party claimed that their decision “put the people first.”
The walkout was in protest of an Institutional Review to create 1 049 departmental jobs in the Metro’s next financial year. The estimate of the cost of implementation of the plan will be R2.3 billion per year.
The decision had little effect as the remaining councillors still constituted the minimum numbers that should be present to make the proceedings valid. The assembly continued following their departure. Cllr Mahano stated that the DA had reviewed the remaining items on the agenda before leaving, and decided that these were not urgent.
Mayoral spokesperson Zweli Dlamini reacted to the walkout by stating that it was regrettable that the councillors chose to leave as is preferable to have all elected officials in council to represent the interests of their constituents and for informed decisions to be made.
